Last night, MM and I had the pumas over for dinner. It’s a good feeling to end the weekend or start the week with good friends around a dinner table. Plus, we never usually have the opportunity to extend our table to its full capacity!

To split up the responsibilities and the cost, we gave each person a dish and covered all of the following: salad, protein, pasta, bread, dessert and wine. Sometimes, dinner doesn’t need to be as grand, but last night was our first time trying one of the puma’s meatball and sauce recipe. That called for a full complimentary menu. MM and I were in charge of the pasta and salad.

To go with the main entree of the evening – meatballs and sauce – we decided to go with a more mild pasta with vegetables. Broccoli & Cauliflower Orecchiette was the perfect call:

Ingredients:1 head of cauliflower

3 bushels of broccoli

3 cloves of garlic

1 Tablespoon of anchovy paste

1 box of orecciette

4 Tablespoons olive oil

2 leaves of basil (chopped)

salt to taste

Recipe:

-boil broccoli and cauliflower in water till cooked

-remove broccoli and cauliflower but do not pout out the boiling water to keep for pasta

-heat garlic in olive oil till fragrant

-add anchovy paste and stir to release flavors

-add cooked broccoli and cauliflower to pan and mix

-add salt to taste

-smash the broccoli and cauliflower into small pieces to coat the orecciette as opposed to dominate in size

-add chopped basil and turn down heat

-boil water in pot again and add handful of salt

-add orecciette and cook until al dente

-add orecciette to sauce and turn up heat

-mix well to coat the pasta with the flavors

-serve with parmigiana, if desired

I plan on learning how to make the meatballs and sauce from my friend – so stay tuned!